Buffs' defense gives offense a final boost

MANTECA - Postseason struggles against teams with speed continued for Manteca, but it wasn't enough to deny the Buffaloes' their first postseason win in six years.

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By Richard T. Estrada

recordnet.com

By Richard T. Estrada

Posted Nov. 16, 2013 at 12:11 AM
Updated Nov 16, 2013 at 12:27 AM

By Richard T. Estrada

Posted Nov. 16, 2013 at 12:11 AM
Updated Nov 16, 2013 at 12:27 AM

» Social News

MANTECA - Postseason struggles against teams with speed continued for Manteca, but it wasn't enough to deny the Buffaloes' their first postseason win in six years.

Unable to stop the lightning-quick running game of Central Valley, Manteca simply outscored the Hawks in a 69-55 victory on Friday at Guss Schmiedt Field in the first round of the Sac-Joaquin Section Division III playoffs.

Manteca (10-1), the No. 3 seed, will host No. 10 Orangevale-Casa Roble (8-3) in the quarterfinals next week. The teams last met in 2009, when Casa Roble rallied in the second half to upset Manteca, 35-28.

That was one of the four playoff openers Manteca had lost in the four previous seasons, and the Buffaloes didn't make the playoffs in 2008, despite an 8-2 record. Their last playoff win was in 2007, so the six-year drought was uncomfortable for a program that had won three section titles in six years.

The star of Friday's show was Central Valley running back Ja'Quan Gardner, who had career highs of 38 carries and 380 yards. He ran for four touchdowns and even threw a short scoring pass while operating out of the Wildcat formation, while quarterback Kendel Johnson ran for 200 yards and two touchdowns.

In a game dominated by offense, it was ironic that the deciding play was produced by Manteca defensive tackle Chase McKee. With Manteca desperately clinging to a 62-55 lead and 5 minutes to play, the 5-foot-9, 210-pounder scooped up a fumble at the Hawks' 28 and returned it 72 yards for a touchown and a 14-point advantage.

McKee got a steam of blocks as he chugged down the Buffaloes' sideline with his teammates urging him on.

"The play of the game right there," said Manteca coach Eric Reis, whose team produced 559 yards of offense but gave up even more. "We expected a lot of offence, there is a lot over there, but I don't know that we were expecting this much."

Central Valley had no passing game to speak of, but its read-option gave Manteca fits. Gardner, who rushed for 1,700 yards and 21 TDs in his final six games this season, had TD runs of 75, 26, 20 and 2 yards. When Manteca began to focus on Gardner, Johnson kept the ball, scoring on runs of 59 and 73 yards. In the second half, the Hawks stopped kicking the ball deep and resorted to onside kicks at every opportunity.

"Odd today in a game like this, but our kickoff return team played a big role, recovering all of those onside kicks," Reis said. "Gardner, he might be the best running back we've ever seen down here. The big difference between our game with them to open the season (a 47-20 Manteca win) is that their offensive line was so much better."